All Music Guide:

From Vallejo, CA (also the home of the Click), gangsta rapper Mac Dre moved to the Romp label in 1996 after two small releases on the Strictly Business label. Mac Dre Presents the Rompalation made the R&B charts near the end of 1996; a sequel followed in 1999. Turf Buccaneers and Mac Dre Is the Name, Rovi

Wikipedia:

Andre Louis Hicks (July 5, 1970 – November 1, 2004), better known by his stage name Mac Dre, was an American rapper, and the initial founder of Thizz Entertainment, and the now defunct Romp Productions.

Early Life & Career[edit]

Andre Louis Hicks was born in Oakland, California on July 5, 1970 and moved to Vallejo at a young age. He grew up in Vallejo, in the Country Club Crest, also known as The Crest neighborhood. He attended Hogan High School in Vallejo. He was first known as MC Dre, but realized that the name sounded too East Coast-ish. He then changed his handle to Mac Dre. He reflects back on his childhood and states, "Situations came out for the better most of them, I went through the little trials and the shit that I went through."

Prison[edit]

In 1992 Mac Dre was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison after he refused the deal the police had offered him, which was informing law enforcement about his partners. At the time Hicks owned the record label, Romp Productions. Subsequently, Hicks wasn't released from prison until 1997.

Later J-Diggs, a member of the Romper Room crew and accompanying friend of Dre to Fresno, stated Dre had nothing to do with any robberies and was convicted for a refusal to give information to police.

While in Lompoc, Mac Dre would go on to obtain his G.E.D.; he stated that, "I had nothing else to do, I had to go back and get mine". While awaiting trial, Hicks would record an album over the phone, taunting law enforcement officials. He also claimed credit for showing Anarae Brown, also known as X-Raided, how to record rhymes over the phone.

Post prison[edit]

During his time in prison, "Mac Dre Presents: The Rompalation" was released in 1996. After his release from prison in 1997, he recorded his second album Stupid Doo Doo Dumb. It was released April 28, 1998. Following those albums, Hicks met with Executive Producer Bernard Gourley and recorded the album Rapper Gone Bad with production help from Tone Cappone, Lev Berlak, and Warren G.

In 2001, Hicks relocated to Sacramento to distance himself from the Crest. After prison, Dre began embracing the party lifestyle in an attempt to make up for time lost behind bars. He began experimenting with ecstasy and mushrooms. Hicks started a new record label, called Thizz Entertainment.

Death[edit]

Mac Dre and members of Thizz were scheduled to do a show in Kansas City on October 31st, 2004. Allegedly, there was a payment dispute with the club promoter. Mac Dre left the show after the dispute and went back to his hotel room. In the early morning hours of November 1, 2004, on U.S. Route 71 in Kansas City, Missouri, unknown assailants in a stolen black Infiniti G35 began shooting at the white van in which Hicks was a passenger. The driver crashed and was able to get to a phone to call 911, but Hicks was pronounced dead at the scene from a bullet wound. There have been no leads as to the perpetrator, and the case currently remains unsolved. Hicks was buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland. In 2006, his tombstone was stolen from the cemetery.